Germicidal and illuminating lamp assembly



June 19, 1956 H. E. MORRISON GERMICIDAL AND ILLUMINATING LAMP ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 6, 1953 .ZEYVEHFUP fifzrafi 5 ffo'rrzaozz United States Paten'tO GERMICIDAL AND ILLUIVIINATING LAMP ASSEMBLY Harold E. Morrison, Benton'I-Iarbor, Mich, assignor, by mesne assi cuts, to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation, St. Joseph, 'ch., a corporation of Delaware Application February 6, 1953, Serial No. 335,546

3 Claims. (Cl. 240-2) The invention relates to improvements in lamp socket assemblies and more particularly relates to a new and improved form of combination germicidal and illuminating lamp socket assembly particularly adapted for clothes driers and the like.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved form of lamp socket assembly supporting a germicidal lamp for projecting its rays into the interior of the drying drum of a clothes drier and supporting an illuminating lamp for illuminating the interior of the drying drum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a unitary lamp assembly for clothes driers wherein an illuminating lamp of substantially normal line voltage forms the resistance for a germicidal lamp of a lower voltage;

A further and more detailed object of my invention is to provide a lamp socket assembly for clothes driers wherein the contacts of the sockets of the lamp assembly connect the lamps in series and the lamp in one socket is of a diflerent voltage than the lamp in the other and forms resistance for the lamp in the other socket.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a socket assembly for clothes driers combining germicidal and illuminating lamps in a single assembly and having an integrally formed reflector forming a mounting means for the socket assembly within a clothes drier for illuminating the drier and projecting the rays of the germicidal lamp within the drum of the drier.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary sectional view taken through a rotary drum type of clothes drier showing the socket assembly of my invention mounted on the bulkhead of the drier;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing the bulkhead of the drier in horizontal section and showing the socket assembly of my invention attached thereto;

Figure 3 is an end view of the socket assembly looking toward the rear of the assembly and reflector for the germicidal lamp and showing the means thereon for mounting the assembly to the bulkhead of the clothes drier; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the series connection of the contacts of the sockets connecting the lamps to operate in series.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, I have shown a socket assembly for an illuminating lamp 11 and a germicidal lamp 12, mounted on a bulkhead 13 of a clothes drier 14.

The clothes drier 14 may be a well known form of clothes drier of the household tumbling drum type and is herein shown as comprising a rotatable drier drum 15 having a perforate rear wall 16 confronting the bulkhead 13 and rotatably driven by power by a drive pulley 17, suitably driven from a motor (not shown). The drier also has a front door 18 affording a means for access to 2,751,488 Patented June 1 9, 1956 the interior of the drier drum 15, and sealed thereto to provide for the circulation of air into and out of the drier drum through the bulkhead 13 and the rear perforate wall of the drier drum, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The socket assembly 10 may be of a two-part construction formed of two mating halves 19, 19 made from Bakelite or any other suitable material, the parts of which may be secured together as by rivets 20 and 21, 21 and 22, 22. As herein shown the rivet 20extends through the body of the assembly, through oppositely disposed ears 23, 23 projecting laterally from a socket structure 24 for the illuminating lamp 11. The rivets 22, 22 are shown as extending through mating ears 25, 25 projecting laterally from a reflector 26,

forming a continuation of a socket structure 27 for the germicidal lamp 12.

The two-parts 19, 19 of the socket assembly when connected together thus form a casing 29 having the socket structures 24 and 27 formed integrally therewith and shown as being disposed at right angles with respectto each other, although they need not be so disposed and may be of any convenient arrangement desired to afford the most eflicient positioning of the lamps 11 and 12. The threads on inner walls of the sockets for engaging and holding the lamp bulbs to the assembly may be molded to the inner walls thereof or may be formed of a separate conducting material.

In alignment with the socket 24 and shown as being directly opposite from said socket are conducting receptacle 32, 32 for the terminals or conductors 33, 33 of an electric plug 35, connected with a source of power supply, and supplying power to the conducting terminals contained within the illuminating lamp 11 and germicidal lamp "12 in series.

As shown in Figure 4, the conducting receptacles 32, 32 when connected with the conductors 33, 33 of the plug 35 supply power to the conducting terminals of the sockets 24 and 27 in series.

The illuminating lamp 11 may be a standard electric light bulb operating on substantially normal line voltage, while the germicidal lamp 12 may be a standard sterile lamp of a substantially lower voltage than the lamp 11 and arranged to project violet rays to the interior of the drier drum 15 and supply ozone thereto, to purify the clothes in the drier drum during tumbling and drying thereof. The two lamps being connected in series the illuminating lamp 11 provides the resistance for the germicidal lamp 12.

The reflector 26 extending from the socket structure 27 for the germicidal lamp 12 is shown as being of a generally frusto-conical form, encircling the germicidal lamp 12 for a portion of the length thereof and having a flanged rim 36 having slotted connecting lugs 37, 37 projecting therefrom and herein shown as being diametrically opposed. The socket assembly may be secured to the bulkhead 13 as by screws or nuts and bolts and the like extending through the slots of the connecting lugs 37, 37 and threaded within the bulkhead or held thereto, as by nuts in a conventional manner, so not shown herein.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a compact, simple and economical, combined germicidal and illuminating lamp assembly has been provided eliminating the need for a resistance for the germicidal lamp and mounting the germicidal and illuminating lamps on the bulkhead of the drier as a single unit. It may further be seen that the socket assembly of my invention simplifies the Wiring to the two lamps, and assures that the circuit to the germicidal lamp be broken and that the germicidal lamp will not burn out upon failure of the illuminating lamp 11 serving as the resistance therefor.

It will be understood that modifications and variations while the rivets 21, 21 extend sockets 24 and 27, to light both the may be eflected in this invention without departing from the scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. .In a combined germicidal and illuminatinglamp' assembly particularly adapted for clothes -driers having .a

ing portion extending at an angle with respect :to the one socket-receiving portion and having an illuminating-lamp therein of a higher voltage than the voltage of the germicidal lamp and of substantially line voltage, conducting receptacles for electrical conductors leading into said casing and having conductors connected with said sockets and connecting said sockets in series to afford a resistance for the germicidal lamp through the illuminating lamp, and the socket receiving portion for the germicidal lamp including a generally frusto-conical reflector extending about the germicidal lamp and having an annular rib at its edge adapted to abut the bulkhead and having projecting lugs projecting therefrom for securement to the bulkhead to position the reflector to project the rays of the germicidal lamp through the bulkhead into the clothes tumbling drum.

'2, In a combined germicidal'and illuminating lamp assembly particularly adapted for clothes driers having a clothes tumbling drum contained within ,a cabinet and having a bulkhead confronting a perforate wall of the drum for thecirculation of air therethrough, a casing having two abutting mating halves having two angularly extending socket-receiving portions having lamp sockets therein, means securing said halves of said casing together to retain said lamp sockets thereto including mating ears projecting from each half of said casing and means extending through said ears for securing said mating halves together, and one socket receiving portion having an in-' tegrally formed reflector having an annular rib at its edge adapted to confront an open portion of the bulkhead and having connecting lugs projecting therefrom for securement to the bulkhead topositionsaid reflector to reflect rays directly through said bulkhead and to position said other socket-receiving portion in spaced relation with respect to said bulkhead to project rays therethrough.

3. In a socket assembly, a casing having two abutting and connected mating halves having angularly extending.

socket-receiving portions having lamp sockets therein, said halves of said casing having ears projecting laterally from one sockebreceiving portion in opposite directions and having a reflector extending from the other socket-receiving portion having ears projecting laterally therefrom in opposite directions, means extending through said ears for securing the matinghalves-of thecasing together, said socket carried by said'socketq'eceiving portion having t said reflector extending therefrom being adapted to have a germicidal lamp carried therein and said reflector having an annular rim having lugs projecting laterally there-' from for-securing the socket assembly to a wall and the like to project germicidal rays therethrough.

References Cited in the filer of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Martin May 8,

649,250 1900 1,469,946 Morrison 'Oct. '9, 1923 1,578,772 Sims M31. 30, 1926 1,987,471 Doane J'an.';8,' 19.35 1,991,058 MOSS Feb; 12 1935 2,506,517 Moore May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS V r 419,448 Germany Sept. 29, 1925 V 

